Which Premier League club is most likely to tackle your Boxing Day spirit?

Dreaming of a white Christmas? Yeah, right! For any football fan, the real festive dream is a big Boxing Day win. But that Christmas spirit can vanish quicker than Frosty the snowman if your team’s giving out more presents to the opponent than Santa himself. To keep things jolly and help you be prepared this year, Betting.co.uk delved into the stats to uncover which Premier League clubs have suffered the most Boxing Day losses. So, which team is most likely to be the Grinch that steals your Boxing Day cheer?

• Leicester City fans face the toughest Boxing Day odds: with a loss rate of 71%, Leicester has given their supporters the grumpiest Boxing Day more often than any other Premier League club.
• Manchester United has managed to keep their Boxing Day losses to just 2 out of 32 since the Premier League started in 1992, resulting in a loss rate of 6% - offering their supporters the best chance of a cheerful holiday season.*

Which Premier League clubs unwrapped the most losses on Boxing Day?

Nothing screams Christmas quite like the smell of Christmas pudding wafting through the house, the twinkling lights on the tree, and… the sour expression of uncle Bob slumped in the corner chair, finding his favourite club's Boxing Day loss harder to swallow than the slightly dry Christmas turkey.

Because as cosy as the holidays are, the mood can shift dramatically when it comes to the Boxing Day matches—especially if teams don’t perform as well as hoped. Let’s try to manage those expectations, particularly for Leicester City fans. With 12 losses out of 17 Boxing Day games in Premier League history, giving them a staggering 71% loss rate, their prospects don’t look great. The same goes for Brentford FC, who have a less-than-stellar track record with a 67% loss rate, though it’s worth noting they’ve only played three games so far, losing two. Newcastle United, on the other hand, can’t be accused of inexperience. With 29 Boxing Day matches under their belt in the Premier League, they’re as seasoned as the snowman himself. However, they’ve let 62% of those games slip away, marking the third-highest loss rate among all current Premier League clubs.

Santa’s winning list

On the flip side, there are plenty of supporters who have enjoyed some holly jolly Boxing Days thanks to their clubs. This year, it seems Manchester United fans are in for the most peaceful festive season among all Premier League fan bases, as their loss rate stands at just 6% based on 32 matches—promising statistics, to say the least. The same goes for Arsenal, who have lost only 3 of their 31 matches, resulting in a loss rate of approximately 10%. Liverpool has also performed well, having given away the win in just 4 out of 28 Boxing Day matches between 1992 and 2023, leading to a loss rate of 14%.

* While Ipswich Town boasts the lowest loss rate at 0%, it’s important to note that they’ve only played 5 matches, of which 4 ended in draws and 1 resulted in a win.

Methodology

To present a comprehensive look at Boxing Day losses for current Premier League clubs, Betting.co.uk analysed all Boxing Day match results from the Premier League’s debut in 1992 through to 2023. This analysis focused on the Boxing Day match round, noting that some games extended to December 27 and 28, with one match in the 1993 round played as early as December 22. The match results were sourced from playmakerstats.com.